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He was reported to be in good health at the time. Maren was an ambassador for the film and would often attend film conventions, munchkin reunions, and other events honoring the film and its cast.

“I’ve done so many things in show business but people say, ‘You were in The Wizard of Oz?’ It takes people’s breath away,” he told North Hollywood Patch in 2011. “But then I realized, Geez, it must have been a hell of a picture, because everyone remembers it everywhere I go.”

Maren was one of more than 100 little people featured in the film. He, however, managed to stand out as the munchkin to hand Dorothy an oversized lollipop.

Maren said he ad-libbed the lollipop handoff in an early take the director loved it and decided to keep doing it.

The handoff came just before he and two other Lollipop Kids sang, “We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild. And in the name of the Lollipop Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land.”

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He was also featured in “The Terror of Tiny Town,” “Under the Rainbow, and “Hello, Dolly.” He was also in TV episodes of “Seinfeld,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Bewitched,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Lou Grant,” and “Julia.”

He also played McDonald’s Hamburglar and Mayor McCheese, as well as Oscar Mayer’s Little Oscar.

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